Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok hopefully you guys can answer me a few questions. Im getting my new little girl on friday and want to have her cage set up right. Today I went out and bought some cypruss mulch, hide rock, humidity and temp indicators and a 60 watt red nightlight bulb for my heat lamp. This is all going in my 10 gallon tank that I already have with a waterdish I already have. I've had everything set up for about 5 hrs now and its seems my humidity is good at about 65%. My heat lamp doesnt seem to be heating my hot spot enought though. My house is quite cool at 62 and when I checked my temp strip on the side of my tank it only read about 65 degrees. Could this be reading wrong because the stip is stuck onto the tank and is about 3 inches away from the hot spot. Is this red nightlight bulb not enough you think? Should I buy a regular maybe more wattage bulb? and how can I get the other side of the tank warm enough cause my house is quite cool right now but that will change in a month or so when the weather warms up more. I'm near Philadelphia and its quite cool right now. Any other help you guys can give me to ensure a healthy little girl I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks guys,
alex

Go here:

www.ralphdavisreptiles.com/interactive/resources/ball_python_care.asp

The reason the "strip" isn't working is because your snake is not floating right there is it?

Get rid of the light (most agree, some don't) or use it on the other end to up the ambiant air temps. Get a UTH and put it on a lamp dimmer or rheostat.

get a DIGITAL THERMOMETER with a probe. Put the probe on the inside of the tank, UNDER the substrate, OVER the uth (make sure the UTH is on the outside of the tank)

It should tell you the temp of the UTH, adjust as necessary.

the HOT side should be anywhere from 90-95 degree's, the COOL side NEEDS to be 80-85.

make sure there are 2 hides, one on each side so the snake don't have to chose between security and heat/coolness.

Those stick on thermometers SUCK and should never have been invented!
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1.1 Ball Python, 0.1 motley amel corn, 1.0 western hognose

The previous advice sounds great. I used to use those stick on thermometers (every type out there I think) and they all suck. The probes make a big diff and you'll find your temps are higher than the stick-on is telling you. Just go to your local Walmart or whatever and pick up the probe thermometers... 10$ or so I think. I've also found that, when using aquariums, covering part of the screen with duct tape or plexiglass helps maintain temps & humidity.
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Kane

Thanks guys. Ok i got a heat pad from my parents that they weren't using anymore and have stuck that under the tanks. It has a low, medium, and high setting. I have it on high right now and it gets hot but not too hot and i figure having to go through a pane of glass and an inch of cypress mulch will slow down some of the heat. You guys this this is sufficient enough now? and as for the electronic thermometer, do i alway leave that in the tank (the probe part) or just when i want to check the temp?

Just leave it in - less hassle to keep moving. Make sure the UTH is only on one half of the tank. I'd move the light to the cool side as you will probably need it since to get your cool side temps to 80-85.

If she's a hatchling she'll only be able to live in that size tank for a short time (probably once she hits one year old).

Be certain to give her at least one hide per side.
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Doesn't matter what the temp is on TOP of the substrate because the snake will most likely burrow. Put the probe UNDER the subtrate OVER the uth.

You will want to get your own uth or human heat pad simply because you parents *may* want to use it want one day. IF you get a UTH get a lamp dimmer as well, keep the temps 90-95 hot side. A 10 gal tank won't last long, it personally lasted me like 4 months before I thought it was to small for my BP.

Leave it in all the time, so you can constantly supervise the temps.
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1.1 Ball Python, 0.1 motley amel corn, 1.0 western hognose

Thanks everyone for your help. But do the uth's that you buy from pet stores have a temperature setting on them or no? and if I get a lamp dimmer controle, how do I know where to set it at for the correct temps? is it just trial and error? and where do i get one of these dimmer controls? do they sell similar things at pet stores?

Pet store UTH-Are generally expensive and get very hot. With a lamp dimmer you have to play with the temp every time the room temp changes. Also since you are in a cold room you will likely need it on a high setting.

I would use a human heat pad and set it on medium (usually between 90-100 degrees) then hook it up to a thermostat with a probe. If that doesn't get your temps up enough or the non heat pad side is too cold. Add that heat lamp and place it over the middle if the temps on the cool side are just a little low (70-75) but if they are still very low put it over the cool side. A 60 watt bulb heated mine up like 10-15 degrees.
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0.1 "Tremper" looking Albino Leopard gecko (Lex)
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Whether you use an over-priced UTH from the petstore, or a human heating pad...you MUST raise the tank to allow air to circulate beneath. If the tank rests directly on the pad, which is directly on the table (or whatever you use to hold the tank) the heat will build up to deadly levels no matter how low you set it. You need 1/8" to 1/4" room for air to circulate beneath the tank.

Also...You MUST get a thermometer probe in that tank to measure the temps on BOTH sides. You can't guess at something like that.

Dimmer switches can be purchased at Home Depot for about ten bucks. If you get a petstore UTH, you must attach either a dimmer switch or a thermostat to regulate the temps. Either of these should also be used on human heating pads to have better control over the temps. If you go to the hardware store, they are not too expensive and could very well save your snake's life.
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--Judy

1.0 red cape gopher (Caesar)
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ball-pythons.net
(It's NOT just ball pythons!)

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Check Out My Albums

1.0 Ball Python
"Aragorn"
1.0 Kenyan Sand Boa
"Gimli"
1.0 Saharan Sand Boa
"Frodo"
0.1 Rough-Scale Sand Boa
"Arwen"
0.1 California Kingsnake
"Gentoo"
1.0 Mexican Black Kingsnake
"Indigo"

0.1 Australian Cattle Dog/Pointer
"Kira"